Research in biodiversity and conservation biology

Research groups and labs

• BEAM Lab - Behavioural Ecology and Macroevolution

  Behavioural Ecology and Macroevolution studies of behavioural ecology from a broad evolutionary perspective. We use comparative analyses and field and lab experiments to answer different questions about nature.

• BRITE – BioSciences Research and Innovation in Teaching Effectiveness

  BRITE supports collaborative efforts to improve our teaching and learning. We enable research on teaching and learning innovations and the evaluation of teaching practices.

• Baxter Group - Biology of Insect Pests

  We analyse and manipulate insect genomes using molecular genetics to better understand the biology of economically important pests.

• Biodiverse Cities

  The Biodiverse Cities research group investigates questions related to the ecology in, of, for and with cities.

• Biodiversity Dynamics Research Group (biodynamos)

  Undertaking research on plant evolution and global change, fire management, animal ecology and conservation decision making.

• CAMEL (Climatic and Metabolic Ecology Lab)

  The research focus in the Climatic and Metabolic Ecology Lab is on how physical constraints on heat, water and nutritional balances limit the behaviour, distribution and abundance of species.

• Coastal and Estuarine Adaptation Lab

  Coastal and Estuarine Adaptation Lab (CEA Lab) research natural, restored and artificial coastal and estuarine habitats.

• CEBRA - Economics of Biosecurity

  Strategic thinking and practical solutions across the biosecurity continuum. We deliver practical, rigorous solutions and strategic advice for biosecurity risk assessment, management, and communication.

• Frankenberg Lab – Synthetic Biology for Conservation

  Researching evolution, development and reproduction (Evo-Devo-Repro) and genomics of vertebrates, especially marsupials, and synthetic biology with ecologically therapeutic applications.

• Mayfield Community Ecology Lab

  Research focuses on community ecology and the conservation of plant and insect communities in human altered environments. We work in tropical and subtropical rain forests and Mediterranean, temperate and tropical grasslands on a diversity of plant and insect species.

• One Health Research Group

  The One Health Research Group (OHRG) provides solutions for wildlife health issues through research, training and extension that benefit humans, animals and the environment, as well as national and international leadership, communication and coordination.

• PEARG Lab - Pest and Environmental Adaptation

  Research on adaptation of organisms (particularly invertebrates) to environmental stresses including climate change and chemical pollutants, using field sites in the Victorian mountains, in tropical rainforests and in wetlands around Melbourne.

• Plant Systematics Group - Herbarium / Systematics and Biogeography

  We study the phylogeny, classification and biogeography of Australasian plants, including eucalypts, acacias, Eremophila, Nicotiana, Dianella, Grevillea, the family Rutaceae, ferns and bryophytes.

• Quantitative and Applied Ecology

  QAEco work on a range of topics, species and locations related to ecosystem management. We are committed to research regarding conservation and management decisions and passionate about modelling using a range of methods to understand more about the natural world.

• Rafferty Pollination Ecology Lab

  Focusing on the community ecology of plants and pollinators in a changing climate. We use experiments, long-term and historical data, and observations of natural variation to understand how climate change is affecting plants, pollinators, and their interactions.

• Responsible Mining and Energy Transition

  Our group combines expertise in remote sensing, GIS, geosciences, environmental engineering, and human and physical geography to explore the human and environmental impacts and risks of mining and energy transitions.

• Rural Innovation Research Group

  The Rural Innovation Research Group (RIRG) is a social science group that researches and designs innovative pathways for facilitating change and enabling social-ecological resilience.

• Shai Meiri Lab - vertebrate evolution, biogeography and conservation

  The interests of the Shai Meiri Lab lie at an intersection of evolutionary biology, biogeography, conservation biology, macroecology and zoology.

• Specifly Lab

  Combining evolutionary genomics, functional genetics, and cutting-edge genetic engineering to understand how arthropods evolve resistance to chemical insecticides — and to build the next generation of precise, species-specific alternatives.

• Stuart-Fox Lab - Animal Behaviour and Evolution

  The Stuart-Fox Lab studies the biology of light and colour, tackling questions at different scales of biological organisation – from optical properties at the nanometre scale to global patterns of colour diversity.

• Urban Ecology and Conservation

  Focusing on the ecology of urban environments, and practical ways to conserve native species and their habitats in cities.

• Wedell Group - Evolutionary insect lab

  Researching the role of genomic parasites in generating intragenomic conflict, predominantly working with insects, by elucidating the consequences for mating systems, the evolution of new traits, the creation of biological novelty, and the survival of populations.

• Pask Lab

  Evolution, development and reproduction. The Pask Lab explores fundamental questions in evolution, development and reproduction using comparative and genomic approaches.